


Sometimes It Is Just That Simple (but mostly it is not)

by Goldy



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-06
Updated: 2013-07-06
Packaged: 2017-12-17 20:25:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/871607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldy/pseuds/Goldy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rory ends up in the alt!verse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sometimes It Is Just That Simple (but mostly it is not)

Amy had sent him out berry picking. 

“Berries from an alien planet,” she’d said, with an excited twinkle in her eyes he’d never been good at ignoring. “We can have them for lunch.”

He’d suspected that what she _really_ wanted was to get rid of him for an hour. Even now that they were married, Amy still felt like she had to prove how independent she was. So he went—all the while doing his best not to picture her and the Doctor off giggling somewhere together, having a right old time while he was sent out to do the errands. 

_Or_ , Rory thought, as he crouched down in front of a blue bush, maybe Amy had really just wanted some alien berries. He glanced at the ring on his finger and smiled. Maybe, once in a while, he could let things really be that simple. 

But before he could start picking, there was a sudden flash of blinding, white light. His stomach dropped and his ears started ringing—it felt like he was falling, tumbling downwards at a million miles an hour. He tried to cry out, but he couldn’t move. Every part of him was paralyzed and lost in a sea of bright light. 

When he came to, he was lying on his back and staring up into the faces of two people, a man and a woman, who he’d never met before. 

***

“Ah,” said the man, “you’re awake.” He put one hand on Rory’s shoulder and then hauled him to his feet. Rory wobbled once, but managed to stay standing. 

The man was tall, skinny, and dressed in a tight-fitting suit. He peered at Rory through a set of brown rimmed spectacles. Next to him, the woman was blonde, at least half a foot shorter than the man, and had a gun tucked up under one arm. 

“What’s your name?” she said. 

“It’s uh... Rory. Rory Williams.”

“Rory,” repeated the man. “Good name.” He winked at the woman. “I love names that start with ‘R.’”

The woman looked amused, but she only said, “Rory, do you know how you got here?”

Despite the gun, she sounded friendly enough, but it didn’t really change the fact that _he_ had been the one who had woken up at their feet. “So you.... haven’t kidnapped me?”

The man and the woman exchanged a look. “Nope,” said the man. “No, we’re not quite sure how you got here, Rory.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a blue blinking stick. He ran it slowly up and down in front of Rory’s body. “It’s like I suspected, though. He’s covered in void stuff.”

“Void stuff?” repeated the woman. “How is that even possible?”

“Convulsions in time and space? Maybe the walls between worlds have been weak ever since the Daleks.” He paused. “I really don’t know.”

Rory barely heard them. There was something so familiar about the man. And then it hit him—the blinking blue stick. It looked exactly like...

“That’s a sonic screwdriver,” he said. “You’ve got a sonic screwdriver.”

The man blinked up at him and then abruptly turned off the sonic screwdriver. “What did you say?”

“It’s just...” Rory began, scratching awkwardly at his neck. “A good friend of mine—he’s got something that looks like that stick. That’s all.”

The man and woman exchanged a long look and then the woman said, sounding shaky, “Your friend, what’s his name?”

“The Doctor.”

The woman’s face paled and for a second Rory thought she might pass out. But before he could intervene, the man reached over and took her hand. The gesture seemed to calm her and when she spoke, her voice was level, “You were right, then,” she said to the man. “He’s from another universe.”

“Our old one, in fact,” replied the man. He paused. “I’ve regenerated. Must’ve done.”

The woman looked pale again. “It could have been ages ago for him now.”

Rory cleared his throat, “Sorry, excuse me, but do you know him? The Doctor?”

They both looked over in surprise like they’d forgotten him. 

“Oh, yes,” said the man. “Because, Rory, you see, I _am_ the Doctor.”

Rory stared. “There must be some kind of mix up,” he finally said. “You don’t look anything like him.” He paused. “Maybe you’re a family member? Distant cousin? Brother?”

The man raised his eyebrows in amusement. “Sort of a... past, alternate, duplicate self. It’s a long story.”

“He grew out of a hand,” the woman supplied helpfully. 

Rory stared back at them. He considered several responses—most of which were some version of “you are both completely mad.” But then, wouldn’t that just _prove_ his story that he was the Doctor? He finally settled on, “Oh.”

The woman grinned. “Come back to Torchwood with us, we’ll explain on the way.”

Rory stood still for a second, silently debating with himself. Would it be better to stay where he was and wait for Amy and the Doctor to realize he was missing and go looking for him? But that could take ages. Besides, nothing about these people suggested they were dangerous. And he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little curious. 

A man who called himself the Doctor, but who _wasn’t_ the Doctor. How could he pass that up?

***

The explanation, when it came, was fast and almost completely nonsensical. He managed to gather that he was in a parallel universe—on a parallel _Earth_ even. The man was also some sort of parallel version of the Doctor, a duplicate version of Rory’s Doctor. He had come to spend his life here, with Rose, who had been his companion in the other world. There was also something about regenerating and a human-Time Lord metacrisis, but the Doctor had been shouting over his shoulder and swerving through traffic so that Rory had concentrated more on tightening his seatbelt rather than paying attention.

Rory’s head was spinning by the time they reached Torchwood, but he found that he accepted most, if not all, of their strange story. Something about the way the man talked and walked reminded Rory so strongly of the Doctor that he almost found himself forgetting the man looked completely different. 

They led him through security and to some sort of basement laboratory. It was littered with bits and bobs—discarded plastics and metals, round disks, and rusted tables and chairs. 

Rory turned around in a half-circle before he settled his gaze on the Doctor. He opened his mouth to ask if he would help him get back home—back to Amy. 

But before he could, Rose said in a soft voice, “Rory, does he ever talk about me?”

Rory looked over. “I’m sorry?”

Rose suddenly seemed interested in studying the plastic covering on an old table. “The Doctor. Your Doctor,” she said, “has he ever mentioned me?”

Rory felt a twinge of sorrow—both for Rose and for his version of the Doctor. “No, I’m sorry,” he said. “He’s never talked about you.”

Rose nodded, clearly unsurprised, but her shoulders slumped. “Oh.”

“He doesn’t say much about anyone, to be honest,” Rory continued. “Oh—except Queen Elizabeth. He’s mentioned her a few times.”

“Queen Elizabeth?” 

“I’m sure it meant nothing,” Rory hastily added. “He doesn’t talk about her all the time or anything—in fact, it almost seems like a joke to him.” 

“Yeah,” said Rose. Even though she cracked a smile, she still sounded profoundly sad. Rory began to get the feeling he was missing something important. 

The Doctor watched her in concern. “Rose?”

“I’m okay,” she said automatically. She folded her arms across her chest, looking pale and tired in the dull laboratory lighting. “It’s nothing. It’s just...”

“I know,” he said. He closed the distance between them and took her into his arms. She went with a quiet sigh, head fitting under the crook of his neck. 

She murmured quietly, “You did always have a thing for royalty, I suppose.”

“Rose, whatever he’s done, whoever he is now.... that doesn’t change what we had. That will always be a part of him, I promise.”

Rory looked down at his shoes, feeling like he was intruding on something private and intimate. It was awkward seeing the Doctor like this—so open and vulnerable to another person. He thought of the Doctor he knew, back in his own world. Oh, Rory knew the Doctor cared about them, but he had also kept his distance from them. There was still so little he and Amy knew about him. In a way, the Doctor had come to define Amy’s whole life—yet they had barely scratched the surface of his. 

How would he react if Rory brought up Rose’s name? Not well, Rory reckoned. Amy would certainly be beside herself with curiosity, but if this Rose was someone the Doctor had loved and lost.... No, he wouldn’t take too well to hearing Rory bring it up, not a little bit. 

Not that Rory had ever let that stop him. 

Rory was jerked out of his musings when the Doctor said, “Though that tidbit certainly clears up one mystery....” Rose shot him such a baleful look that he released her and quickly changed the subject. “Now, Rory, I expect you’ll be looking for a way home.”

Rory felt a wave of relief. “Yes!” he said. “I need to get back. I... my wife is there. In that other world. I need to get back to her.”

“Say no more,” said the Doctor. He bent over, beginning to rifle through the disposed doodads and metal pieces lying around. He tossed a rubber hose over his shoulder and then finally emerged holding a round metal disk. “Ha!” he said. 

He set the disk down on the table and then peered at it steadily, going silent. Across from him, Rose shifted uncomfortably.

“Can you fix it?”

“I told you once that I could,” he said in a low voice. “Did you believe me?”

“And I told you that I didn’t want you to,” she responded in just as low a voice. “Did you believe _me_?”

Rory looked back and forth between them, feeling once again like he’d been forgotten. It reminded him of how he felt when he first started travelling with the Doctor and Amy. Like they were the real team and he was the third party, the outsider. “What is it?” 

The Doctor grinned. “Rose here built this remarkable piece of technology a few years back. This—” he waved the round metal disk in Rory’s direction, “is called a dimension cannon. It should get you back to where you came from—ooh, give or take a few minutes?”

“And it sort of makes you feel a bit nauseous,” Rose said. She turned and gave the Doctor an adoring look. “But it’s worth it.”

“Getting back to the person you love,” said the Doctor, “can’t argue with that.”

“Great, yeah, thanks,” Rory said. Trying not to sound too hopeful, he said, “Will it work?”

It had been hours since he’d disappeared. Amy surely would have noticed by now—was she worried? Was the Doctor at this moment telling her that he’d fallen into another universe? Would they assume he was trapped forever? 

“Just.... just... give me a few moments,” the Doctor said. He whipped out his spectacles and then bent over the device, waving the sonic screwdriver over it. “Ah—that’s what it’s missing. A strong enough power source.” He looked up at Rose accusingly. “You powered it with a _laptop_ battery?”

She bristled. “It was a work in progress, all right? Besides, it worked in the end, didn’t it?”

The Doctor made a “humph” noise and then sent to work in earnest, sonic screwdriver pressed to the middle of the disk. 

Rose sighed in frustration, but said, “Is there anything I can do?”

The Doctor waved at the air with his free hand. Rolling her eyes, Rose moved off to join Rory quietly on the other side of the room. 

***

They watched the Doctor work in silence, but Rory felt all too aware of Rose’s presence next to him. Several times he opened his mouth, questions hovering on the tip of his tongue. Had she travelled with the Doctor for long? Had their relationship always been.... like that? How did it happen that she was stuck here, in another universe, while the Doctor went on without her? 

Was that how things always ended when it came to the Doctor?

Finally, Rose broke the silence. “So there’s two of you travelling with him? You and your wife?”

“Yeah,” said Rory. “Amy was first, though.” He paused. “He still likes her better.”

Rose murmured an unconvincing “nah” and then said, “I’m glad that he’s not alone.” She added, “What’s he like?”

Rory glanced at her. She was still watching the Doctor, but her gaze was melancholy and far away. 

“He’s... I don’t know... he’s the Doctor,” he said, after a pause. “He makes us do incredibly stupid things on a daily basis. It’s mad. _He’s_ mad.” He managed a smile. “And so’s Amy, just a little bit.”

Rose smiled and then nudged him in the shoulder. “It goes around when you travel with the Doctor.”

“I once spent 2000 years as a plastic Roman,” Rory murmured. “If that’s not mad, I don’t know what is.”

Rose blinked, but then said, “No way.”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, puffing out his chest a bit. “I was protecting Amy.” A lump gathered in his throat and he deflated. “I need to get back to her.”

Rose turned a concerned gaze on him. “You will.”

“She’ll be worried, she’ll...” he bowed his head, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’ve never felt so useless.” 

“Don’t talk like that.” Rose put a gentle hand on his shoulder and he reluctantly turned his head to look at her. “The Doctor and I—we once got separated, yeah? But I never gave up. There’s always a way, Rory, you’ve just got to find it.”

As if in response, the Doctor yelled a triumphant. “Aha!” He looked up excitedly. “It just needed a bit of a sonic boost, that’s all. Simple enough if you have advanced alien technology—and I do.”

The Doctor twirled the sonic screwdriver in his hand and then deposited it back into his jacket pocket. 

Rory jumped to his feet and rushed over. “It’s working?” he said. “I can go home?”

The Doctor watched him with a smile. “Oh, yes.”

“How does it work?”

Rose came up beside him and picked up the device. “It’s part teleport, part dimension jump. The Doctor’s set it up for you—all you have to do is press the middle button.”

She handed the device to Rory who took it gratefully. “Thank you, _thank_ you.” 

The Doctor and Rose both smiled. Rose’s smile didn’t quite meet her eyes, and after a moment she reached out and took the Doctor’s hand. 

Rory was itching to press the button and go, but something made him say, “Is there anything I should tell him? A message?”

Rose glanced at the Doctor who hastily looked away. She flushed, but then turned back to Rory and said, “Yeah.” She swallowed. “Could you tell him that... that I’m happy?” Her voice cracked. “And that I’m glad he’s not on his own.”

Rory nodded. “Yeah, course. Course I can.” His eyes ticked over. “Doctor? Is there anything...?”

“Best not to go there, mate,” said the Doctor. “Just... tell me one thing first?”

“Anything.”

“Is his hair better than mine?”

Rose looked embarrassed. “ _Doctor_ ,” she hissed.

Rory blinked. “Oh, no,” he said hastily. “No, yours is better. Much better.”

The Doctor seemed to go from insecure to smug in a flash. “ _Well_ ,” he said with a grin. “Go on, then, Rory. Your wife is waiting for you.”

Rory felt a slow smile spreading across his face. “Yeah she is,” he whispered. 

“ _And_ you’ve got a time travelling alien to keep out of trouble,” Rose pointed out, but she was smiling too. Whatever shock she’d got when Rory first showed up seemed to be fading. 

“Right. The pair of them are lost without me.”He took a few steps back, keeping Rose and the Doctor in line of sight. Then, taking a deep breath, he said, “Wish me luck—”

\--and pressed the button. 

Immediately, his stomach plunged, his ears began to ring, and the white light pressed down on him. Then, as suddenly as it began, it ended. Coughing, he pressed himself up on his elbows, finding himself lying face down in a pile of dirt. Turning his head, he took in the berry bush from earlier, blue leaves glinting in the sun. 

It took a few seconds after that for him to remember exactly what happened. When he did, he stumbled to his feet, gritting his teeth through the last of the nausea. Hurriedly stuffing the dimension cannon into his pocket, he took off at a full run. 

“AMY!” he yelled. “DOCTOR! AMY! AMY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?”

He almost burst into a hysterical fit of laughter when he heard her from a distance, “Yeah, I can hear you. Why are you shouting? I can’t leave you for five minutes, can I?”

Rory stumbled forward, grinning and panting, unable to find it in him to be put off by the annoyance in her voice. “Get the Doctor!” he said. “You won’t _believe_ what just happened...”


End file.
